MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council
FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager
SUBJECT: Status Report/Council Poll
DATE: February 1, 2007
Status Report
1. Superior Lane Car Wash Stakeholders Meeting
On Thursday, January 25th, a Stakeholders Meeting was held on the Superior
Lane Car Wash Special Exception. This is a proposal by James Properties
III, LLC to reactivate a two-bay car wash at the rear of 3329 Superior
Lane. The car wash has not operated for approximately 15 years. The .98-acre
site is zoned C-S-C (Commercial Shopping Center) and is located on the
east side of Superior Lane approximately 80 feet south of its intersection
with Annapolis Road (MD Route 450). A Special Exception is required to
operate a car wash in a C-S-C zone.
One resident, Ms. Jenelle Dauk, and one representative of a neighboring commercial property owner, attorney John Barr, attended the meeting in addition to staff and two (2) representatives of the Superior Lane project, Mr. Malik Shakur and Ms. Hazel Shakur. Mr. Shakur noted that the car wash would operate Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The existing coin-operated car wash would be converted to a full-service detail shop with two bays—one for an automatic car wash tunnel and one for a detail facility. There would be no self-service facility and the car wash would employ approximately six (6) people. The cost of detailing a car would be $100 plus. Mr. Shakur noted that there was a need for a car wash in the community, and that the vacant car wash and transmission shop currently on the site were an eyesore in the community. Ms. Shakur noted that a traffic study was being conducted for the project and that the study would address the issue of queuing. Ms. Dauk asked if security and lighting would be addressed by the applicant. Mr. Shakur assured her that the applicant would invest some money in security, but planned to use the existing lighting.
City public hearings are scheduled for February 13, 2007 at BAPB and February 20, 2007 at City Council. Neither the Prince George’s County Planning Board nor the Zoning Hearing Examiner has scheduled hearings at this time.
2. 10th Annual Bicycle and Pedestrian Symposium
Attached is a flier announcing the annual Bicycle and Pedestrian Symposium
in Annapolis, which will be held on Friday, February 9th from 8:30 a.m.
to 4 p.m. at the Miller Senate Office Building. The purpose of this event
is to provide the opportunity for elected officials and representatives
of the biking and walking communities, and the staffs of local governments
to interact and share information to improve cycling and walking conditions,
trail extensions, and related projects in Maryland. City staff will once
again be in attendance at this event. If your schedule permits, you may
want to attend.
3. Mills Property Second Stakeholders Meeting
On Wednesday, January 31st, staff conducted a second Stakeholders Meeting
regarding Preliminary Plan #4-05148 for the Mills property. The development
proposal includes 14 single-family detached lots and two (2) commercial
parcels on 24 acres of land, zoned R-R (Rural Residential) and C-M (Commercial
Miscellaneous), located at the northwest corner of US 301/Mitchellville
Road adjacent to Amber Meadows. Eight (8) residents and one newspaper reporter
attended the meeting. The developer's representatives included Mr. Jason
Wilder of Washington Management and Development, Mr. Sherman Ragland of
Tradewinds International, LLC and their consulting engineers. Mr. Wilder
began the meeting by stating that the developer is willing to have the
property annexed into the City at some point in the process. Other topics
discussed at the meeting included: lot sizes; sale prices; the buffer between
the proposed residential and commercial uses; identification of the builder;
drainage concerns; construction time frame; use of Ayrwood Lane for construction
traffic; access to US 301; uses for the commercial lots; and, appropriateness
of Detailed Site Plan review for the commercial lots. City public hearings
are scheduled for February 13 at the BAPB and February 20 at City Council.
The County Planning Board date is March 1, 2007.
4. Transportation, Housing and Environment Committee Meeting
On Wednesday evening, January 31st, the Transportation, Housing and Environment
(THE) Committee convened in College Park City Hall for the purpose of giving
the public the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding County transportation
priorities with respect to transit, road/intersection and trail projects.
Approximately 75 residents attended this well-publicized meeting. The session
began with staff from Park and Planning and the County DPW&T providing
an overview, using a PowerPoint presentation, of the different offices
within each agency and their functions. City staff was in attendance and
spoke on behalf of the City, submitting for the record Council-adopted
letters expressing the City's
appreciation of recently completed transportation projects, and support of
transit projects (letter dated April 19, 2006) and roadway improvement projects
(letter dated August 14, 2006) in the Bowie area. Park and Planning staff
noted the tentative schedule for the County's Master Plan of Transportation
(MPOT): Stakeholders Meetings in 2007, with the release of a draft MPOT in
spring/summer of 2008, followed by public hearings in the fall of 2008 and
County Council adoption during the winter 2008.
5. Bike-to-Work Day
Bike-to-Work Day this year is scheduled for Friday, May 18th, from 6:30 -
8:30 a.m. The City will again have two pit stops: Bowie Town Center at
the Food Court and Old Town Bowie (specific location to be determined).
Food, fun and prize drawings highlight the morning. Preregistration begins
on Thursday, March 1st and may be done on-line at: www.waba.org. Please
save the date on your calendar.
6. Court Case
The case of the City of Bowie versus MIE was heard today in the Court of
Appeals in Annapolis. A decision on this matter is expected in 60-90 days.
If any Council member would like to review the webcast of the oral argument,
it is available on the Court of Appeals website, which is www.courts.state.md.us/coappeals/webcast.html.
Attachments
